The two films, Colors (1988), Directed by Dennis Hopper and Training Day (2001),
Directed by Antoine Fuqua tackled the interconnected issues of gang violence in Los Angeles, a
city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, and the controversial nature of the police
response. After watching the two films I came to recognize that the film are advocating for
effective policing necessary in responding to common problems facing the community in Los
Angeles . In explaining this, Hopper and Fuqua have used their films to argue that the police
should be informed with the best knowledge that they can use to develop effectiveness strategies
for dealing with a particular problem while involving the general public. Therefore, in the two
films encourage the use community participation and negotiation rather than physical force to
encounter the gangs and suppress them. Crime and policing, featured in the two films portray
allegations of malpractice, selflessness, corruption as well as heroism among the cop found
operating in Los Angeles.
In explaining this, Mr. Hopper and Fuqua have used their films to portray to us the
violent in Los Angeles Street propagated by gangs and the failure of the police assigned to
control them. In demonstrating this, Hopper and Fuqua have perfectly used their films to
illustrate to use the policing existing in Los Angeles by builds tension between their protagonist
character who used different policing on their tactics and philosophies to handle crimes. For
instance, in the film ''Colors'' Mr. Hopper has introduced the two L.A.P.D. officers dispense to
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track the bunch of hooligans, and the tension build by differences in their policing tactics and
philosophies (Training Day N. p). Hopper depicted to us that Bob Hodges (Robert Duvall) a
festooned veteran had a realistic judgment of the condition and understood that he at times he has
to bend the rules to get results (Training Day N. p). While the bad-tempered apprentice Danny
McGavin has learned naught and knows it all, as he believed that busting heads of the gangs and
making arrests will help him solve the problem in Los Angeles Street. This leads into scenes
where the two cops, Hodges, and McGavin almost came dangerously losing their street authority
because they are fighting over their differing methods of policing.
What’s more, Bob Hodges being an experienced cop, who for a long time has been
patrolling the streets of suburban LA, an area that has become a battleground for local teenage
street gangs used his experience to try and teacher McGavin on how to handle the gangs
(Training Day N. p). In trying to overcome the gangs, Hodges advised McGavin that aggression
will not solve the problem, and he suggested that building a trusting relationship with the 21st
Street Gang will serve as a solution to the problem.
In supporting this, Mr. Hopper has used the film to illustrate to us that the gang's lives are
full of misplaced loyalties, and aggression could not help to reverse the situation. For this reason,
McGavin, at the end of the film was nicknamed Pacman, as he comes to recognize the need to
identify himself with the street gangs, and this made him to him to find out an acceptable outlet
for his aggression. Like the street kids, McGavin, wears a uniform – colours – that give him an
identity' (Training Day N. p). At the end of the film, McGavin, come to learn the effect of
aggressiveness and as Hodges had earlier lecture him, and now it was his turned to preach the
same message as he sends his representative, the social worker, down to the gang's clubhouse to
lecture them. His message was he can save them from the ghetto and themselves – for patriarchy.
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'Training Day" is equal-opportunity for Antoine Fuqua to depict about police brutality
and the level corruption, In Los Angeles in which the cops were more corrupt than anybody ever.
In explaining this, Fuqua depicted to us one of protagonist character Alonzo as the meanest and
notorious narcotics cop in the city. Alonzo collected tribute and accumulated graft like a
medieval warlord shaking down his serfs. His main phase is that " he job must be done this way:
If you don't intimidate the street, it will kill you"(Colors Motion Picture Stills Collection. N.p).
This was the lesson that Alonzo was teaching Jake Hoyt a young cop who had ambition of being
promoted to the Elite Narc squadron (Colors Motion Picture Stills Collection. N.p). Jake's dream
for promotion was propagated by his ambition of moving his wife and child to a nicer house. In
first day of training Jake, found himself in the hands of Alonzo an experienced police officer in
Los Angeles who was ready to teach Jake of the of street reality. It was here that Alonzo forces
him to smoke pot and instructed him that if you turn down gifts on the street, "you'll be dead."
In signifying about the bad police practice, Fuqua depicted to us how Alonzo look at as
Jake stops two gangs who are raping a young woman, and instead of arresting the rapists as
proposed by Jake, Alonzo thoroughly and competently beats them and left them. In view of this,
it is apparent that Alonzo believes in dispensing street justice, by brutally punishing the victims
and never take them to court since he saw as waste of time. Moreover, the film has also
portrayed to us Alonzo and Jake street incidents that spell out Alonzo's dishonesty and Jake's
increasing bewilderment, leading to Jake's discovery of a scheme of dirty cops championed by
Alonzo (Colors Motion Picture Stills Collection. N.p).
In view of above explanation, it is noteworthy to confirm that community policing is
essential as it embrace the idea that the police and community can work together to solve crime
and decay experience in Los Angeles. The philosophy of community policing suggest that the
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community and the police should work together in a combined effort to resolve community
problems, and this was the idea that Hodges and Jake wanted to embrace. Subsequently, Dennis
Hopper and Antoine Fuqua used their film to communicate to us that the function of police
officers is that of facilitator, leader, role model, and educator.
Therefore, it is the responsibility for cops like McGavin to work with and for the
community to serve its needs based on rational observations and information that emerges from
the community. For this reason, Hopper and Fuqua have used their film to assert that the police
must provide a lucid vision of optimism for the wellbeing of the community as they should work
collectively for a better quality of life for all members. The Alonzo and McGavin should also
understand that a mutual effort takes trust and respect from the community (Colors Motion
Picture Stills Collection. N.p). Therefore, once the police have established themselves as a
medium for the betterment of the society, they can ask the general public to take more duty for
ensuring safety.
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Works Cited
Fuqua, Antoine, and David Ayer. Training Day. S.l. N.p., n.d. Print.
Hopper, Dennis, and Merrick Morton. Colors Motion